Pulp Fiction at the Library of Congress

The Pulp Fiction collection at the Library of Congress consists
of issues received on copyright deposit at the time of their publication. A great majority of the paper issues were held by
the Serial and Government Publications
Division, although three extremely rare and valuable titles
were transferred to the Rare Book & Special Collections Division:
Amazing Stories, Black Mask, and Weird Tales. (See our Guide to the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room’s Pulp Fiction Collection). This collection, now on microfilm, is available in the Main Reading
Room, LJ-107, Jefferson Building. A list of titles follows below.
A second copy of this microfilm collection is available in the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room, Madison Building, Room LM-133, along with original covers and a growing number of facsimile copies.

The "Pulps," so called because they were printed on cheap high-acid-content
paper, served as popular reading material, similar to today's paperback;
cheap, portable, disposable, and often sensational. This genre
flourished from the 1920's to the 1950's. Titles focused on specific
literary types: romance, sports, western, detective, science fiction,
horror, or military (during World War II). Writers were frequently
paid by the word, and to meet daily living expenses, well-known
authors sometimes wrote for these magazines under pseudonyms, putting
only their "literary" work under their real name.

These titles have been filmed and should be available in the
Main Reading Room, Jefferson Building. Check the online
catalog for microfilm numbers.
A second copy of the microfilm collection is also available in the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room.